Corals

Marvels under water.

- Kusum Mehta

Coral has been popular for thousands of years. Its curative powers were strongly believed by the ancient Romans. A piece of red coral was supposed to change colour according to the state of the wearer’s health. Coral held a treasured place among the inhabitants of Persia, Tibet, India and Africa. Strings of coral were considered royal gifts in some parts of Africa, and coral was sacred in India two millennia ago.

Corals sometimes are mistaken as minerals and sometimes mistaken as plants under the sea. However, they are a kind of micro-worms distant relatives of jelly-fish, swimming freely under the sea. Until they are grownup worms, they fix themselves on the boxes of their ancestors. Their touching hands stay inside their castle, and only stretch out to prey on micro-creatures under the sea. They also secrete a kind of shine, making their accomodating facilities even more consolidated. They keep on reproducing themselves by way of their division.